eBay vs. Convention

eBay vs. the Convention

by George Wells

You might get a sense that while the world turns and things change,
our Club just keeps plodding along with blinders on. Not So! In fact, we
carefully monitor the various market venues which compete on one level
or another with our Convention, and you might be surprised with what
weíve found!

It is no secret that EBAY has changed the complexion of the collectables
market. Buyers who previously had to travel in order to find "material"
now enjoy shopping in front of their home computers. Judging from the
declining participation seen at antique shows, antique malls and shops,
the much-revered "buying trip" may soon become a thing of the past

Make no mistake; EBAY has had many positive influences. We are being
constantly exposed to a far wider selection of merchandise than we ever
could have found by traveling. We have learned - at times painfully,
just how common some items are, and we have also learned how rare others
are. (Interestingly, the on-line indices of the "great-and-truly-rare"
have shown little weakness through the current economic slowdown,
mirroring the market performance of other top-quality, investment-grade
collectables.) Additionally, EBAY has brought together many collectors
and sellers who would not otherwise have met. Surprising as it may be,
there are actually some really nice folk out there who are not yet FBICC
members!

Oh, EBAY has had its negative influences as well. Some people think that
it is EBAYís fault that the prices of flow blue plates have fallen. The
real cause is that plate prices are particularly vulnerable in a
generally weak market, combined with the EBAY-provided proof that plates
are really more common than many of us thought. (The Internet is
showing us a significant percentage of all the flow blue on the
world-wide market at any one time - powerful information!) The worst
effect, though, has been an epidemic of laziness. Sitting for hours in
front of your computer simply doesnít have the same aerobic effect as
running the Brimfield gauntlets! And once multi-dealer malls like the
great "Noahís Arc" in New Hampshire shut down, theyíre gone for good.

Several years ago, the FBICC Board became concerned that EBAY might be
threatening our Clubís Convention Auction. We were afraid that our
revenues might suffer if ERAY succeeded in siphoning away from us some
of our membersí consignments. In fact, three years ago, EBAYís fee
structure was quite competitive, and in response, we lowered the fee
charged on un-met reserves of over $1000 to "level the playing field."
Since then, some interesting things have happened.

First, after an initial bubble of enthusiasm, many buyers have turned
away from EBAY (and other on-line auctions) as a preferred marketplace
for buying antiques. Some have been burned by sellers who misrepresent
their merchandise. Buyers have found that the customs and policies of
EBAY are stacked quite favorably to the advantage of sellers, a bias
EBAY initiated to attract sellers in the first place. But since then,
EBAY has failed to develop compensating protections for buyers. (EBAY
did institute an "escrow service" for this reason, but the seller must
agree to use it, and there is a cost.

As you might imagine, the sellers
who perpetrate the greatest mischief are also the least likely to agree
to use the service, and it has not caught on.) While EBAY does have a
"feedback" feature, sellers can easily escape negative feedback by
changing their EBAY seller "ID." (Watch out for those little "dark
glasses" symbols behind the sellerís "ID".) To make matters worse, EBAY
has not found an efficient way to police fraud or to apply pressure to
misleading sellers, so that it has become a truly dangerous marketplace.
That doesnít mean that everyone selling there is a crook! But over the
past two months, I have received over $3000 in refunds on items I
returned because of misrepresentation of condition. It is good that the
sellers made those refunds, but it is annoying that the items were
misrepresented in the first place and that I had to re-pack and ship
them off. (It is all too convenient for a seller to state that an item
is perfect, to hope for the best, and when caught in the ruse to claim
ignorance. While I am certain there is plenty of ignorance afoot,
innocence is far more rare! And while I waited almost three months for
one of those refunds, other Club members have completely failed to
obtain redress when they were defrauded. The pleasure of submitting
negative feedback is a poor substitute for a proper refund.) Also, for
some mysterious reason, breakage resulting from improper packaging items
is way up.

Worst of all is that EBAY has slowly and methodically inched its fees
skyward, and there has been an explosion of on-line payment options
(which cost MONEY) so that it now costs about twice what it cost in 1999
to sell a $100 plate. I understand how EBAY might have an interest in
keeping its profits up while the market drops, but the result has been
that it is now much less competitive. To sell that $100 plate, letís say
the seller selects a $50 opening bid, cost: $2.20. If he selects a
reserve of $90, it costs him another $1.00, which is refundable if the
item sells, and the little "gallery" picture that almost every seller
uses costs another $.30. If the plate sells for $100, the sales
commission is $3.37, and if the seller accepts "Paypal" payment, the
most common and preferred payment method, the $100 gross will cost him
another $3.20, plus another $1.00 if the buyer is from abroad. Assuming
the reserve is met and the reserve fee is refunded, the $100 sale to a
same-country buyer cost the seller $9.07 (9.07%) not counting the time
taken to photograph and upload the listing, communicate with bidders as
needed, receive and clear payment, and pack and ship the item before the
buyer gets too impatient. Finally, EBAY used to refund fees if a buyer
undid the sale due to any number of reasons, but that option is no
longer available. The fee is charged, and it is simply a loss to the
seller if the buyer doesnít pay, or if he returns the item for just
cause. This is a HUGE new cost!

Well, maybe the cost increase ISNíT the worst part! The amount of
misrepresentation on EBAY has gotten so bad that any buyer with a lick
of sense will ASSUME that an item is significantly worse than described.
And he bids accordingly. That way, he wonít be disappointed if an item
arrives with some unheralded "issues," and he just MIGHT get lucky and
be pleasantly surprised when he receives a piece which had been
accurately described. But the consequence is that EVERY honest seller is
penalized. Yes, there is the possibility of a seller becoming so well
known for his or her honesty that their descriptions would be trusted,
but even after I had been selling for several years, WITH A 100%
SATISFACTION GUARANTEE, and without receiving ANY negative feedback, I
would still receive emails from buyers who told me how surprised they
were by the high quality of my merchandise. Even back then, two years
wasnít enough exposure to overcome the systemís distrust. So that $100
plate mentioned above would probably only be bid to $60, because
everyone assumes it has a small chip or some other dirty little secret.

ON THE OTHER HAND! The FBICC auction enjoys the advantage of having a
professional jury which specifically looks for both reproductions and
restorations and advises members of its findings. Our auction also gives
the buyers the opportunity to inspect the material BEFORE the sale, so
there are no unpleasant surprises. The sellers donít have to go to the
trouble of photographing and listing each item on≠line, and money
exchanges are clear-cut and virtually instantaneous. The buyers donít
have to contend with the costs and the uncertainty of sellersí shipping
practices. And consider the convenience and usefulness of having a
printed catalog full of vital information to use during the auction and
which can be kept for reference in the future. Also, the anonymity of
the seller is preserved, removing any political "baggage" from the
pieces sold and allowing a dealer to sell a single treasure into a
market where two or more "friends" might be insulted not to be given a
first right of refusal.

Considering the advantages of our FBICC auction as opposed to the
significantly less attractive and quite problematic EBAY auction, our
10% commission (which goes to support the FBICC, not to an auctioneer or
to shareholders) is a REAL BARGAIN! Its only drawback is that the
number of consignments is limited, so donít wait for the deadline to
submit your lots!

THEN thereís the FBICC Convention Table Sales! There is simply no
equivalent experience anywhere else on the planet! At any given time,
there will be between 1000 and 2000 listings for flow blue on EBAY. If
you take away all of the lots that our jury would exclude (reproductions
and stuff that isnít flow blue at all) you would be left with about 200
lots, most of which will be insignificant saucers and plates, a very
modest selection at best. By comparison, the selection offered at the
Clubís Table Sales is overwhelming! When you walk (or run) through those
open doors, you will see more flow blue in an instant than will be
listed on EBAY over the entire year. And the dealers selling it are
staking their professional reputations on the quality of their offerings
and have a vested interest in your continued satisfaction. Without even
mentioning all of the great educational programs, displays and social
events, is there any wonder why the FBICC National Convention is the
premier flow blue event of the world?

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